As processor speeds and frequencies increase, the power dissipation of the processors and the supporting circuit assemblies increase dramatically. Cooling, therefor, is becoming one of the major limitations to the ever-increasing performance of computer systems. Compounding this problem is the fact that the speed of computer chips can be dependent upon their temperature. As the temperature of such chips increases, the speed of the chips slows. Accordingly, there is an increasing need to lower the temperature of such chips.
Another challenge is raised by the fact that flight times between system elements must decrease in order to increase processor speeds and frequencies. To do so, it is desirable to either increase the velocity of flight or decrease the distance over which signals must travel. While the distance between processor and memory does not always play a significant role in system design, such distance may become a factor in systems with multiple processor and memory elements, in which the dimensions of the processor and memory elements begin to push the elements farther apart. Accordingly, in such systems, it has become a challenge to keep signal interconnect lengths short enough to meet system timing requirements. The resulting increase in system density makes it difficult to keep all of the closely-packed elements cool.
Especially in high end servers that connect multiple processor, memory, and input-output (I/O) units, there is a need to connect those components together. One way to accomplish such connection is the use of a back plane or mid plane design. With a back plane interconnect, the back plane resides in the rear of the system, and all of the removable computer components are plugged into the back plane. In a mid plane approach, the interconnect plane is moved into the interior of the system to allow boards to be plugged into both the front and rear of the mid plane. The use of such back planes or mid planes can, however, cause a thermal impact in rack-mounted computer designs. In such rack-mounted designs, a front-to-back air flow path is often desired, wherein the air flow enters the front of the unit and exits the rear of the unit. The back plane or mid plane approach can, however, hinder such front-to-back air flow.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a computer system and method configured for improved cooling.